Strawberry Mouse
by TealEyedBeing
Summary: Friendly Owner/Pet fic, where Shiro is a two inch tall albino mouse hybrid and Ichigo is his human owner. Just cute and fluffy stuff :  Sequel will be posted eventually. I don't own, really no other warnings.


_**Warnings/Disclaimer: **__I own nothing~! I don't own Bleach or its characters :3 all I own is the little strange ideas I get with the fandom x3 this fic includes Friendly Owner!Ichigo and Pet!Shiro and a little Owner!Rukia and Pet!Renji_

_**IMPORTANT NOTE! **__I say this in the fic but I want it to be clear now. The hybrids in this story still look human, with animal ears and tail, but instead of normal size, they are their "animal's" size. That means Shiro is like four inches tall and Renji is two feet when standing. They also act mostly human but have animal habits and live in animal environments. ^^ if this is not your forte, please leave now and do NOT flame because you have been warned!_

_Everyone else, please enjoy~! ^^_

* * *

><p><strong>~x~<strong>

**Strawberry Mouse**

**~x~**

A bare, long, light pink tail flicked back and forth, stirring up the cheddar chips that the albino mouse hybrid had dropped earlier but had not bothered to pick up. Ichigo, his owner and master, would scold him for dirtying his cage later and he'd clean up his spacious and luxurious room then.

Shiro opened his eyes to reveal bright red irises, the color normal for albino mice like himself. He snorted when he thought of the common cliché of white lab rats. Pfft! He was no rat and he sure as hell wasn't in a fucking lab.

His rounded, pure white ears flicked in his icy crown of tresses in indignation at the thought of being a rat. Rats were sneaking, sly and lying bastards and Shiro absolutely _hated _being referred to as one. He was a **mouse!** It rhymed with house, goddammit!

Huffing when he realized he was getting distracted, _**again**_, Shiro refocused on what he was doing. Which was flicking the cheddar flavored triangular chips like paper footballs into his trashcan. He cursed when he missed for what must have been the eighteenth time and gave up, instead settling for glaring at the clock, willing it to go faster.

The four inch and something albino mouse hybrid hated school. He'd never been to it of course, as he'd been born and raised in a pet shop, but his master went to it and made him go away for several hours a day and so hence- he hated school.

Shiro was grateful in all means to Ichigo for choosing and purchasing _him _out of all the other mice, hell out of all the pets, in the store that fateful day almost exactly one year ago, three days from today. Ever since then, his life had gone from being in a plain glass cage with twenty other mice hybrids to being the sole occupant of a large and lavish metal wired cage that had the furnishings for a king. Well, a king of his size anyways.

Shiro was quite proud to say that he was very pampered and Ichigo spoiled him often, but not rottenly. All in all, it if wasn't for damned school, the albino mouse was very much content with his life.

He sat up quickly, excitedly, when the bedroom door opened but his small ears immediately dropped in disappointment when not Ichigo, but his sister, Yuzu, walked in. Don't get him wrong, he adored the light brunette, but she wasn't Ichigo.

"Hello, Shiro-chan!" Yuzu greeted cheerfully as she lugged a small vacuum into the room and plugged it in before skipping over to Ichigo's desk where Shiro's cage perched upon.

The red-eyed albino smiled and waved up at the youngest Kurosaki. "Hi Yuzu. Is it almost time for Ichi to come home?" He asked, putting on his best pleading expression. Yuzu also loved to spoil him (as he was the family's only pet, though he was specifically Ichigo's) and he got many sweet treats from her.

Yuzu's smile turned sympathetic. "Ah, not quite yet, Shiro-chan. He called to say that he'd be going over to a friend's for a little bit and he'd come home a little later than usual. But!" She exclaimed, hopping upright to fish into her apron's pocket. "He did say that I could give you an extra treat for compensation!"

Shiro, who had deflated in disappointment again, perked up at the girl's words and his red eyes grew round when she pulled out a small, gourmet chocolate. He **loved **chocolate! But Ichigo was rather strict about his health so it was semi-rare to get some, therefore he literally lit up when he saw the candy in its gold plastic wrapping.

Giggling at how cute her brother's pet looked now, Yuzu opened the small cage door (that wasn't locked as it was merely there to protect Shiro than actually cage him in) and placed the treat into Shiro's waiting outstretched hands. She giggled again when the albino mouse hugged the large (to him anyways) candy to his chest. This would last him a week if he was stealthy and conservative about it.

"Thank ya, Yuzu~!" Shiro cheered up to the smiling Kurosaki before setting the chocolate on his mini-table and got to work unwrapping it.

"Awww you're very welcome, Shiro-chan." The light brunette cooed and straightened, turning and walking back to the vacuum to begin her cleaning.

Neither of them noticed that she had forgotten to close the door protecting Shiro as Yuzu began vacuuming and the albino nibbled on his chocolate.

**~x~**

"You better keep an eye on that mangy beast when we get to my house, Rukia, I won't have him attacking Shiro." Ichigo scowled, striding ahead of his short black-haired friend who was carrying a rather large, red haired cat hybrid in her arms.

"Don't call Renji mangy!" Rukia shouted indignantly while her neko hissed in agreement. "Besides, I know he won't want your dirty rat anyways." She sniffed superiorly, not noticing Renji's neko ears perk up in curious interest at her words.

Ichigo whirled on her so suddenly that she squeaked and almost dropped her two foot tall neko hybrid. Both of them looked fearfully up at the towering orange head, shrinking back from his smoldering ochre eyes and out of his intimidating shadow.

"Shiro is _**not **_a rat." The orange haired teen bit out harshly before turning on his heel and started marching off again, Rukia starting and scurrying after him.

Rukia was one of Ichigo's closest friends but he hated that spoiled rotten cat of hers, and the fact that she degraded on his chosen pet snidely. It was the only thing they seriously disagreed on. He figured it was mostly because she was scared of mice but he wouldn't stand for anyone to badmouth Shiro because the mouse was **his.**

They arrived at his house a few minutes later, no more words having been exchanged between them after their most recent spat on the pet matter. Ichigo opened the front door and immediately kicked his attacking father in the face. "Knock it off, old man, we have company." He grumbled and shucked off his shoes as his crazy father's attention switched to his "third daughter."

"Hey Ichi-nii." Karin greeted monotonelessly from her slouched seat on the couch, her dark eyes not lifting from the tv screen.

"Hey Karin." The eldest Kurosaki sibling replied as he hung up his jacket and padded into the kitchen. "Hi Yuzu." The orange head lightly ruffled his youngest sister's hair as he walked past her at the stove, heading for the fridge for an after school snack.

"Ack! Ichi-nii!" Yuzu swatted her brother's arm with a spatula in revenge for mussing her hair. Her only response was a chuckle as the orange head rooted around in the fridge.

He dimly heard Rukia conversing with Karin before a single question snapped his hand back from reaching for a covered dish and straighten abruptly.

"Hey wait, where's Renji?" The raven haired Kuchiki asked curiously, looking around her feet and then jumping when a small, high pitched scream sounded upstairs and before she could move, an orange haired blur had bolted past her and was already upstairs.

**~x~**

Shiro had been happily munching on a piece of chocolate he had broken off the large original candy when he distinctly heard Ichigo's voice greeting his sisters downstairs. Cramming one last piece into his mouth, the albino mouse pushed the leftover chocolate away and stood, dusting off his small clothes idly. His small round ears picked up a soft padding sound and he looked up just in time to see a red haired neko hybrid launch its two feet something body at his cage.

Shiro vaguely realized he let out a scream of surprise and fear as his world was turned upside down as his cage tumbled off the desk. The whole thing landed with a crash and he lay dazed on the bottom, which was actually the side. Blinking red eyes blurrily, the small albino mouse hybrid scrambled back frantically but was too late to avoid the clawed hand reaching for him through the open cage door. He shrieked through gritted teeth when one claw scratched open a long but shallow cut right across his abdomen.

The monster that had attacked him suddenly let out a squeal when a large hand clamped down on the scruff of his neck, effortlessly picking him up and flinging him out into the hall, the neko hybrid landing with an undignified thump, hissing at the treatment.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo roared furiously when he saw Shiro holding his bleeding stomach. "Come get your blasted cat before I kill him!" He shouted angrily before carefully reaching into the fallen cage.

Rukia hurriedly ran up the stairs and scooped Renji up into her arms, gasping when she saw the tumbled cage and injured albino mouse. "Bad kitty! Baaaaaaaaaaaad kitty!" She scolded, swatting Renji's forehead a few times as she lugged him back downstairs, the neko cowering away from her reprimanding swats.

Shiro couldn't even manage to snicker when he heard his attacker's punishment. His stomach felt like it was on fire. He gasped when he was gently and very carefully shuffled into one of Ichigo's palms and slowly lifted out of the sideways cage.

"Oh, Shiro, sweet, I'm so sorry." Ichigo whisper murmured to his wounded pet, one finger gently petting the albino's tiny ears and soft hair. He slowly stood and walked gracefully, as to not move Shiro too much, to the bathroom.

"Eh, 'm alrigh' Ichi." The red eyed hybrid huffed out slowly, his tail flopping wearily against his owner's wrist and he reclined his head back against his master's fingertips.

Ichigo frowned lightly, using one hand to stopper the sink and fill it a quarter way with warm water. "You're not alright, that damn neko hurt you." He growled more to himself than to Shiro. He turned off the faucet and gently slid his pet from his hand onto the cool marble surface of the sink.

Shiro blinked at the change of temperature and texture and then at the expanse of water before him, looking up when he felt a tug on the back of his small shirt.

"C'mon, get undressed and into the water. Try and clean the scratch out as much as you can and I'll be back with a bandage and new clothes for you." Ichigo instructed before standing to leave and do as he said.

The mouse hybrid blinked numbly again before doing as he was told, toeing off his tiny socks first. The gray sweatpants he was wearing were a bigger challenge. The waistband was soaked in his red blood and he slowly stood, wincing at every stab of pain from his shallow, still slightly bleeding gash. Wriggling his hips and tail, he managed to drop the material off his waist and they pooled around his ankles. He was glad he went commando and didn't have to deal with boxers. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach, staunching most of his bleeding with the pressure and he didn't want to make his bleeding worse by lifting his arms.

Shiro's problem was solved when Ichigo came back with some first aid items and a new set of tiny clothes for the albino. The orange head meant to ask what was wrong but one baleful look from the tiny male hybrid made him understand. Kneeling on the linoleum floor before the sink, he placed the new clothes next to the towels and the first aid on the toilet seat. Being used to how delicate his small pet was, Ichigo reached forward and gently used the tips of his fingers into the bottom of Shiro's torn and bloody shirt and slowly maneuvered it off the tiny albino form.

Shiro shivered when the cool air brushed his bare skin and released his arms from their tight clutch around his stomach, making a face when dried blood cracked and a small amount of new blood oozed down his stomach. Carefully sliding down into the sink, the mouse hybrid let out a small squeak when the lukewarm water lapped at his cut, causing a sting.

A long finger affectionately rubbed the top of his head to comfort him and the red eyed tiny male looked back over his shoulder gratefully, receiving a fond smile in return. Ichigo drew his arm back and crossed his forearms on the sink and rested his chin upon them, ochre eyes half lidded as he blurrily kept an eye on his pet if he needed help. He was still very heated with Rukia and her mangy cat but concern for Shiro was always forefront.

The albino didn't feel a bit uncomfortable with his master watching him wash. It was just a protective gesture, showing he was there if he needed his help. Using a small square of a rag (cut out from a larger towel), the tiny hybrid soaped it up and cautiously dabbed it at his stomach. There was a slight sting again but he ignored it and worked on scrubbing away most of the blood. By the time he had finished cleaning his cut, it had mostly clotted and was no longer oozing. Tossing the dirty rag out of the sink, Shiro turned around in the now cool water towards Ichigo.

The orange head's eyes opened to attention. "Want another rag?" He questioned, already reaching for one under the sink where the stash was kept.

The albino nodded, swirling his fingers in the water coming up to his upper waist. "An' can I get new water? It's gotten cold..."

"Of course." The eldest Kurosaki said simply, handing his pet the new rag and pulling the plug to drain most of the water while turning on the faucet so that more hot water would replace the cold water leaving. He turned the flow off and plugged the drain again when Shiro indicated that the temperature was the same all the way to his feet.

Shiro dutifully cleaned the rest of his body and then hair, paying special attention to his small, rounded ears and long, pink tail. He was careful not to stretch too far and reopen his wound and when he was done, a small wave signaled Ichigo and he was gently scooped out of the lukewarm water and placed on a towel next to his clothes.

"Only put on your pants so that I can bandage you up." Ichigo instructed, draining the sink for a final time and turned to his first aid supplies.

"Kay." Shiro chirped, feeling much better now that he was no longer bleeding and felt no more pangs of pain every time he moved. The wound would heal quickly. Using his tail to lift his pants off the sink top, the mouse hybrid stuck one leg in and then hopped comically to get the other one in, grinning to himself as he set the waistband of the white sweatpants on his hips so they would mostly be out of the way.

"Okay," Ichigo started as he turned back to the small albino with a peroxide dipped Qtip swab in hand. "This might hurt a little." He put a hand behind his pet to steady him and Shiro braced his hands against Ichigo's fingers with a nod.

The albino winced when the swab rubbed the cleaning alcohol into and over his scratch. The sting was worse than both the water and soap combined but it was still bearable, making his small hands clench and unclench restlessly. Pulling the Qtip and his hand away, Ichigo tossed the used swab into the trash bin and pulled out some gauze, ripping off a long thin strip that would be used to wrap Shiro's abdomen to protect the clean cut.

The tiny hybrid bent his elbows and held his hands up by his shoulders, keeping his arms out of the way as Ichigo began tenderly wrapping the thin gauze strip around his middle, its long length wrapping him up from down to right over his hip bones and up to right below his ribs. Ichigo handed him the end of the strip to tie it into a knot by his side.

"It's not too tight is it?" The orange head asked worriedly, running a gentle finger down Shiro's side.

Bending forward carefully and then to both sides and back again, the albino hybrid grinned up at his owner. "Nope! All nice an' snug!"

Ichigo smiled thankfully and after helping his pet put on his shirt and socks, carefully lifted him onto his right shoulder, Shiro's favorite place to perch whenever he was with the orange head.

Rukia was waiting for them in the living room when Ichigo finally descended the stairs with the first aid kit in his hands. Renji was held tightly in the Kuchiki's lap to prevent him from escaping as Ichigo shot a nasty glare in his direction when Shiro hid under the orange haired teen's shirt when the albino had caught sight of the neko hybrid.

"Renji and I would like to apologize." Rukia announced, standing up with Renji's legs dangling below her arms. "Ichigo, I'm sorry that I didn't keep a closer eye on Renji." She apologized and smiled slightly when the orange head nodded in acceptance. "Your turn, Ren-Ren." Rukia chirped, hoisting her pet up higher.

Ichigo gently poked the lump under his shirt on his shoulder. "Shiro, sweet, come out please, Renji is going to apologize." He said softly, smiling when tiny red eyes peeked out at him.

"Ya sure he won' attack me again?" Shiro's small voice floated out into the air. At Ichigo's reassuring nod, the tiny white haired male crawled out from under the shirt and pressed close against his owner's neck, albino red orbs watching the neko mistrustfully as small white ears flicked nervously along with his pink tail.

Renji squirmed at seeing him again, his instinct telling him to attack and eat the mouse but his owner's arms clamped around his chest denied him the movement. He hissed lowly when Rukia shook him to "encourage" him to apologize. "I'm sorry for trying ta eat yah." The cherry-eyed neko hybrid mumbled reluctantly, his red tail flicking irritably against Rukia's leg.

Like his master, Shiro only nodded and then turned his face away, looking back over the orange head's shoulder with his cheek against Ichigo's neck, admittedly afraid. Feeling his pet's trembling against his throat, the orange haired teen reached up to scoop the mouse into his palm and then deposited him gently into his breast pocket, Shiro's second favorite spot because the sound of Ichigo's heart beating calmed and warmed him. Curled up in the pocket, Shiro's trembles faded away as the strong sound of his owner's heart beat soothed his frazzled mind.

"How come you're never that sweet with anyone else?" Rukia suddenly teased, snickering when Ichigo's soft expression snapped back into a fearsome scowl as his attention was diverted away from his calmed pet.

"Because Shiro's different." He answered vaguely, ignoring the girl's look of curious confusion as he headed into the kitchen to feed himself and his albino hybrid, the fridge his destination.

Shiro peeked the top of his head out of the pocket when he felt the cool air wash over his small body from the refrigerator. "I want...that!" He decided, coming up further out of the pocket and pointed to a cheese and chicken casserole that Yuzu had made earlier that week.

"Heh, I do too." Ichigo smirked and pulled out the wrapped dish, serving himself a large helping onto a plate and popped it into the microwave for a few minutes. Shiro would share off his plate. Plopping into a kitchen chair with a sigh, Ichigo ran a tired hand through his spiky orange hair. "Your stomach okay?" He asked Shiro, putting a hand by his pocket and the tiny white male climbed out onto his palm.

"Still snug an' not bleedin'!" The mouse hybrid replied cheerfully, his mood back to normal now that his species' mortal enemy was not around. He curled his tail affectionately around his owner's thumb and grinned happily.

Ichigo released a small, rare smile and lifted his other hand to lightly pet Shiro lovingly, eyes softening once more when the small albino hummed in pleasure and leaned into his delicate touches.

Yuzu smiled happily to herself when she peeked into the room and saw the cute sight. She was so glad that their father had insisted Ichigo get a pet. Her older brother was so much happier more often now that he had the little albino mouse. She quietly left the room just as the microwave went off.

* * *

><p><em>I have more to this little fic written on paper, but it'll take me a little while longer to get that typed on computer and finish writing it :3 hope you enjoyed the cuteness~ the next chapter will probably be called the sequel, and then I'll post it completed.<em>


End file.
